New Delhi : The Supreme Court will hear on Monday the plea by 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts convict Yakub Memon, challenging the death warrant issued against him and seeking the stay of his execution set for July 30.
“I have already assigned the bench. It will come by Monday,” said Chief Justice H.L. Dattu as senior counsel T.R. Andhyarujina mentioned the matter before the bench, which also comprised Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy, on Friday.
Memon has moved the court contending that death warrant for his execution on July 30 was issued even before he could have exhausted the legal remedies that were available to him and when his curative petition was pending consideration by the apex court.
The apex court on July 21 had rejected Memon’s curative petition saying that it was void of merit.
On the same day, Memon filed a mercy petition before the Maharashtra governor seeking commutation of his death sentence into life imprisonment.
Memon, in his petition before the apex court, has relied on the apex court’s May 27, 2015, verdict where it had quashed the death warrant issued for the execution of Shabnam and her paramour Salim, both convicted for multiple murders of members of the girl’s family members including a 10-month-old child, on the grounds of it being illegal as procedure was not followed.
Quashing the death warrant, the court had held that the “Right to live under Article 21 does not end with the confirmation of the of the death sentence by the Supreme Court”.
Holding that “even when death sentence has to be executed, the human dignity is protected”, the court had said: “That is the reason there are many judgments as to the manner in which the execution is carried should be as painless as possible.”
It had held issuance of death warrants by the sessions judge within six days of the apex court upholding the death sentence of Shabnam and Salim was “unwarranted”.
Memon and 11 others were slapped with the death penalty by the special TADA court in July 2007 for 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts in which 257 people were killed and 712 were injured.
The apex court by its March 21, 2013 verdict uphold his death sentence while commuting the death sentence of ten others (one having died subsequently) to life imprisonment.
The apex court on April 9 had dismissed Memon’s plea for the review of death sentence verdict for the second time as it had earlier dismissed his similar plea seeking the recall of March 21, 2013 verdict.